Actors Suriya, Kajol among 397 invited to join Oscar panel

Suriya and Kajol are among 53 invitees from outside the US.

The actor Suriya. | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on June 28 invited actors Suriya of Jai Bhim and Soorarai Pottru fame and Kajol (My Name Is Khan, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, etc) to be members of an Oscar panel comprising 397 eminent movie personalities. They are among 53 invitees from outside the US.

The actor Kajol. | Photo Credit: BIJOY GHOSH

Deadline.com reported that the 2022 invitees include 71 Oscar nominees and 15 winners, and that 44 per cent of them were women while 37 per cent were from underrepresented communities. The website reported that the diversification drive, which began in 2016, was meant to double the representation of women and underrepresented communities by 2020. With the new nominations, the number of members has exceeded 10,000.

Suriya, one of the highest paid actors in Tamil cinema, has often taken themes that were outside the success formula of action movies. Jai Bhim, which was released in November 2021 on an OTT platform, was widely acclaimed for its theme, and many critics praised it as one of the best movies of 2021. It was among 276 films that competed in the Oscar race, but failed to get a nomination.

“The problem is that when there are so many English movies, a movie from another language competing in the main category will hardly be reviewed by the members who rate the movies,” said a film industry insider. In his view, Jai Bhim did not compete in the appropriate category and hence could not make an impact. According to him, there is a need to understand how Oscar nominations work and work to the strengths of India’s films.